WIXOM, Mich. – The Madonna University softball team started the 2017 season on the right foot on Friday morning as they held Rochester College to just seven base runners in a pair of 5-inning shutouts at the Total Sports Complex Dome.
Site: Wixom, Mich. (Total Sports Complex – Dome)
Game 1 Score: #RV Madonna 11, Rochester 0 (5 Innings)
Game 2 Score: #RV Madonna 9, Rochester 0 (5 Innings)
Records: MU (2-0); RC (0-2)
Next MU event: Friday, Mar. 3 vs. No. 23 Park (Tucson, Ariz.) – 12 PM
Playing indoors presented some challenges for both teams, but the Crusaders bats heated up quickly and the pitching showed that it could be depended on this season.
Game one saw the Crusaders score 11 runs on just five hits and five Warrior errors. All the scoring took place in the third and fourth innings with Madonna posting crooked numbers each time.
After each team went down in order for the first two innings, the Crusader bats awoke in the third. A one out single by Julia Cavagnini (JR/Livonia, Mich.) got the line started and after an error and a walk loaded the bases, Kerstyn Comerzan (SO/Woodhaven, Mich.) drew an RBI walk for the game's first run.
Bri Giordano (SR/Plymouth, Mich.), Halee Warren (SO/Canton, Mich.) and Kayla Rebain(SR/Plymouth, Mich.) each recorded RBIs in the inning with Giordano plating two with a double and Rebain busting out an inside the park, two run home run.
With a 7-0 lead, Madonna poured it on in the fourth, once again loading the bases for the middle of the order. Kish delivered a two-run double to left and another error allowed her to score later in the frame for the 11-0 win.
Two big innings again pushed the Crusaders over the top in game two, as the pitching was stellar. After Erin Combs (SR/Imlay City, Mich.) allowed just three hits with nine strikeouts over five scoreless innings in game one, the trio of Paige Montague (JR/Clio, Mich.), Erika Randall (JR/Livonia, Mich.) and Madisen Henry (FR/Swartz Creek, Mich.) held the Warriors without a hit, the first no hitter for the Crusaders since Bree Crampton accomplished the feat on April 25, 2015.
A passed ball in the second plated the first run then three consecutive hits by Morgan Kaiser (SR/Flat Rock, Mich.), Comerzan and Kish pushed the lead to five and another RC error made it 6-0. Kish's two-run triple highlighted the inning.
A Comerzan two-run home run in the third highlighted the three-run inning as the Crusaders cruised to a 9-0 win.
Montague got the start and tossed three perfect innings with three strikeouts before Randall tossed a scoreless fourth and Henry shut the door with a pair of Ks in the fifth.
In all the Crusaders tallied 20 runs on 17 hits led by a 3-for-5 day by Kish as the senior catcher fell a home run shy of the cycle, scored three times and drove in four runs. Comerzan also impressed at the plate as she finished 2-for-4 with four runs scored, four RBI and the home run to go with two walks.
Madonna returns to action on Friday, Mar. 3 as they travel to Tucson, Ariz. for the Tucson Invitational Games. The Crusaders open against No. 23 Park University at 12 PM before facing Goshen College at 2 PM.
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